This film is very well made. It has excellent cinematography and has very good performances by some of the most talented South African actors. I believe the story is true to its time and setting with typical characters for a small South African town at the time.
It is a deep story about honest innocence opposed to people wearing masks. It is about loyalty, stereotypes, prejudice, community, acceptance, priorities and redemption.
All of this does not make it a pleasant film to watch, though. The film explores the beauty and the dark side in people and raises difficult questions about what we base our decisions on.
Overall I found this a very depressing film that wallows in an "Afrikaner struggle" mentality. The only emotional appeal that the film has is that it tries very hard to evoke pity from the viewer - pity for the prejudices that Faan faces as a handicapped person and pity for his father who, as a struggling manual laborer is up against the threat of mechanization. Unfortunately I believe that pity serves rather badly as the sole golden thread that's supposed to keep me glued to a movie screen.
If you enjoy art-house films that explore the darker side of the human psyche and if you enjoyed a film like "Die Wonderwerker", then you'll enjoy this film. If you are looking to be entertained, though, you might need to look a bit further.
